Ask a Pagan

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Skadi

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So, seeing as there are a couple other threads thrown up by people of various faiths for questions on their religion i figured id do it too.

“Ask a Pagan” is a very broad term though and Paganism is not itself a religion but a blanket term for many who form a sort of community. In addition, various Pagan faiths are very eclectic and there is no Bible or Catechism to outline beliefs, but I have a good general knowledge of paganism (and the occult sense I know the questions are coming) and I’ll do my best to answer any questions.

I was raised catholic and went k-12 in the catholic school system, learned catholic doctrine and apologetics, and understand Catholicisms teachings pretty well. So I look forward to any questions you may have or discussions that may come.

Stay classy Catholics 👍
 
I will happily start this discussion…

Quick question(s)…what made you leave the Catholic Church and join the Pagan religion? What is it about Paganism that interested you? What do you generally believe as a Pagan? and…do you have any religious books like the Christian Bible???
 
I’m curious about idol worship, if you know about that. Is there a preferred term for it that’s less pejorative? And what do such people want to tell us in order to explain what it is that they do?

Also- assuming you’re a pagan who doesn’t do this- what do you think of pagans who do, and how might you approach it differently from a monotheistic person?
 
Why do you limit God by pantheism when Panentheism is a better description?

(If you do!)

What do you believe that is not covered in Catholicism. Eg the rhythms of nature, God reflected in creation, etc?
 
Skadi said:
So, seeing as there are a couple other threads thrown up by people of various faiths for questions on their religion i figured id do it too.

“Ask a Pagan” is a very broad term though and Paganism is not itself a religion but a blanket term for many who form a sort of community. In addition, various Pagan faiths are very eclectic and there is no Bible or Catechism to outline beliefs, but I have a good general knowledge of paganism (and the occult sense I know the questions are coming) and I’ll do my best to answer any questions.

I was raised catholic and went k-12 in the catholic school system, learned catholic doctrine and apologetics, and understand Catholicisms teachings pretty well. So I look forward to any questions you may have or discussions that may come.

Stay classy Catholics 👍
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Thanks for offering to answer questions.

I spent some time in Germanic paganism. I consider myself eclectic, drawing from many traditions. I honor all the gods, goddesses, and ancestors.

Which gods or goddesses do you work with? What attracted you to Germanic paganism?
 
With all due respect, I will pray for you, but no questions because I am not interested in what you are trying to sell! 👍
 
I’m curious as well as to what made you become interested in Germanic paganism. I understand there is a modern drive to resurrect interest in it.🙂
 
What does Germanic paganism entail and what led you to believe it is true?
 
Unacceptable and profoundly without awareness of reality = pagansim.

Why would you bring your ethos to this forum? WHOM is it that is controlling you? And why would any disciple of the Lord engage you in conversation? Those are my questions.

I will pray for you. There will be a moment, unknown to any except God, where you will stand before Him. Be prepared.
 
I would ask that we begin with a basic definition of pagan. What does that mean to you? For example, I have seen the following terms used interchangeably - pagan, heathen, hedonist, infidel, polytheist, idol worshipper, unbeliever, etc…

I think it would behoove us to ensure we apply a consistent meaning to words here.
 
ellzeena said:
Why would you bring your ethos to this forum?
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Probably because this is the forum that’s labeled Non-Catholic Religions
And why would any disciple of the Lord engage you in conversation?
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A more important question is why you’re asking a question to someone that only you can answer. :rolleyes:
I will pray for you.
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landon13 said:
I will happily start this discussion…

Quick question(s)…what made you leave the Catholic Church and join the Pagan religion? What is it about Paganism that interested you? What do you generally believe as a Pagan? and…do you have any religious books like the Christian Bible???
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Well, I was raised in a nominally Catholic house, we went to church about 7-8 times a year and i went every week at school, but as I got older and began exploring (first through books and TV and then through travel) the rest of the world I sort of fell into agnosticism. Eventualy I came to the conclusion that I would leave god alone and he would leave me alone.

Senior year of High school i took a world religions class, briefly considered Islam and then Shinto-Buddhism and then wound up getting into Wicca. I did that for a few months but in the end the religion is just a little to fluffy and effeminate for me, It relay is a religion that is geared more towards 20 year old women in its practice.

So, I stepped away from the magic based elements of paganism but retained my soft polytheistic world view and chose the Germanic pantheon to follow sense I’m ethnically German. Like I said im a soft polytheist so I dont take stories like the Poetic Edas literally, but see the gods as real entities which represent elements of the supreme divine in a culturally relative context.

Paganism is a broad category that cover alot of very dissimilar religions, but my particular one (Germanic/Asatru) Basically is a reconstructed religion of ancient German speaking peoples like the Anglo-Saxons, Goths, Vandals, Alemani, Suebi, Vikings, and Swedes. Most people know Odin and his son Thor but there are two entire tribes of Gods, the Aesir and Vannir, as well as numerous Jotun (Giants) who may intermary and be considered gods (Like Loki or Skadi) or in most cases serve as the antagonists and rivals of the gods. Valhalla, Odins great hall and the equivalent of heaven, is home to the greatest warriors who have died honorably in battle, and they feast and spar all day and night in preparation for Ragnarok, the battle at the end of the world. Those who do not go to Valhalla go to Hel, which unlike the christian Hell with 2 L’s is not a place of suffering but simply the next life.

As for texts, most that was written is lost to the ages. What does remain are scattered Runestones in northern Europe and some ancient manuscripts that were translated by christian monks in the 12th and 13th century. These manuscripts usually don’t get the sort of total trust that Christians give the bible because its a general consensus they were probably altered in some form by the monks who translated them.
 
Monergistic said:
I’m curious about idol worship, if you know about that. Is there a preferred term for it that’s less pejorative? And what do such people want to tell us in order to explain what it is that they do?

Also- assuming you’re a pagan who doesn’t do this- what do you think of pagans who do, and how might you approach it differently from a monotheistic person?
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Well what do you term Idol worship? if you mean the worship of anything but the Judeo-Christian god of the faiths of Abraham then all Pagans would fall under that category.

In terms of approaching someone, the methods that Christians tend to use are horribly inefective and in most cases would fortify someones resistance to christians. Street preaching dosn’t work, protesting at events dosnt work, knocking on doors dosnt work. 90% of people who are pagan were probably christian at some point and for some reason left, they are very independent people and most pagans feel as if Christianity is out to squash them like it did the pagan religions of old. Just talk with them, be their friend, get to know them, and do NOT spout bible verses. Spouting bible verses at a pagan is like if i walked up to you and started reading verses from the Koran, its just a book to us.
 
FrancisBenedict said:
Why do you limit God by pantheism when Panentheism is a better description?

(If you do!)

What do you believe that is not covered in Catholicism. Eg the rhythms of nature, God reflected in creation, etc?
Click to expand...
Im not a pantheist per say but a soft polytheist.

And Nature was a big reason I found my way to Wicca but it actually is much less a focus in Germanic Religion than in other Pagan traditions like Celtic. Personaly I alwase found the church teaching that man is master of creation and that he is the only living thing with a soul to be… not in line with my beliefs.
 
Lisa1967 said:
Thanks for offering to answer questions.

I spent some time in Germanic paganism. I consider myself eclectic, drawing from many traditions. I honor all the gods, goddesses, and ancestors.

Which gods or goddesses do you work with? What attracted you to Germanic paganism?
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The main god I give most focus is Tyr, God of Single Combat, Honor, and Glory. Female god would be Skadi, Goddess of Skiing and the Hunt. They were my two main dietys during my time in Wiccan and i have kept the focus on them my whole time through Paganism.

I chose the Germanic pantheon because im Ethnically German and wanted to show some reverence for the gods of my ancestors. Being soft-poly and believing that all pantheons are just faces f the true divine i figured that would be the one to go for.
 
Skadi said:
The main god I give most focus is Tyr, God of Single Combat, Honor, and Glory. Female god would be Skadi, Goddess of Skiing and the Hunt. They were my two main dietys during my time in Wiccan and i have kept the focus on them my whole time through Paganism.

I chose the Germanic pantheon because im Ethnically German and wanted to show some reverence for the gods of my ancestors. Being soft-poly and believing that all pantheons are just faces f the true divine i figured that would be the one to go for.
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Thanks for answering our questions. I am ethnically German, English, and Scandinavian.

What books would you recommend people read if they want to find out more about German paganism?
 
Skadi said:
Personaly I alwase found the church teaching that man is master of creation and that he is the only living thing with a soul to be… not in line with my beliefs.
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To my knowledge it is not orthodox Christian teaching that only human beings have souls. All living things have souls, because the soul is understood as what gives life to a body. It is, however, orthodox Christian teaching that only human beings have immortal souls. Perhaps it seems like semantics, but I thought I’d throw it in there nonetheless. Carry on! 👍
 
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